About Working Out

When it comes to pregnancy workouts I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t totally kept the ball rolling very well. Sure, I walk every day – it’s about the only thing that feels “normal” right about now. And as mentioned last week I’ve been doing prenatal yoga once a week to get my stretch on and fellowship with other mommies-to-be. For strength training I’ve been doing the workouts (2nd trimester workout is the best, FYI) on this DVD:

But other than that it’s been hard to work out and feel like I’m still getting the same burn as before. Once upon a time I would spend hours at the gym, running and stairclimbing and doing intense weight training. Then I got married and graduated college, which meant no more gym. And then I had a nagging knee injury that kept cropping up as soon as I had built up enough endurance to run. And then I got pregnant and the intensity got toned waaaaaaay down.

Something has happened lately – I’ve started craving a good long heart-pounding, wet-sweaty-T-shirt, red-in-the-face workout. You know, the kind where your limbs are shaking at the end and you want nothing more than a long shower and a good nap at the end. From what I’ve heard and read that kind of workout is still about 5-6 months out, but I can’t wait. The good news is that when that time comes the baby should be old enough to take in a carrier on long hikes, another thing that I’ve been craving. Yay for a well-timed baby (although let’s face it, we didn’t time this…it’s totally a God thing)!

As much as I’d like to plan my workout schedule for after baby I know that it would just be a futile effort. If having a ton of friends who’ve had babies in the past year has taught me anything it’s that having a baby changes everything and even the best-laid plans can go awry.

That being said, the long-term goal that I have is to lose a little more than what I started with as far as pre-baby weight goes. One thing you WON’T find on this blog is specific numbers as to how much I weigh because quite frankly I don’t weigh myself. I have no problem saying that I’ve lost a certain number of pounds, but in a conscious effort to keep others from comparing themselves to me (and me to others) I won’t ever give a total weight. Anyway, my happy weight is a little lower than what I started with pre-baby, and my goal is to reach that within the first year after he’s born. So here we go: the 5 W’s and the H to my so-called plan:

Who: Me. Heather. HD. H-Dis. Moi.

What: Will lose around 50 pounds of both baby and pre-baby weight.

When: From March 2012 to March 2013. Ish.

Where: Since this is kind of a ‘duh’ thing, we’ll just go ahead and say that I cannot afford to join a gym (unless any gyms out there want to give me a complimentary membership!), so the “where” part will be both in my home living room, the streets around my house, and the trails in the general Foothills area of Colorado. Ish.

Why: This is actually the most important part if you ask me. Pregnancy has not been easy for me with eating well and exercising – not the first time around before the miscarriage, not the part after the miscarriage, and not the part where we were trying to conceive. It wasn’t easy having conceived and feeling sick in the heat of the summer when no one wanted to be outside, especially a sick pregnant woman. Looking back on it all now I know that there were things I could have done differently, but the reality is this: I’m pregnant, healthy, and want to live out a good example of a healthy lifestyle for my children. I want to feel good in my body again and I want to be proud of the hard work that goes into making it strong and healthy. I want to do what I can to make sure I live as long as I can, to watch my kiddos grow up and be with my husband for the longest amount of time possible. I won’t pretend like it’s going to be easy to get back in shape, but I do know that it’s worth it – worth it for me, for my husband, and for our family.

How: This is another important one and the part that I don’t really feel like I can “plan” just yet. But I will say that I am going to focus on walking, hiking, and then running a little for cardio. For strength training I am planning on creating my own strength workouts and using Salah and Tina as amazing resources. And one thing that I’m REALLY going to focus on is flexibility and core strength – via yoga, stretching, pilates, whatever. Those are two things that I never really paid much attention to before but after being pregnant I really miss any semblance of them that I had. Granted I don’t know where I’m going to find the time to fit these things in but I know it’s worth it.

So there you go – a wordy, long post about how I miss being in shape and am excited to get back into it – only this time with a little man attached to my hip (or boob) and a completely new outlook on life. Easy? Right? 🙂

I think it’s great that you want to be healthy and get back in shape. A word of warning…If you are planning to breast feed your little man, keep in mind that you’ll need to consume enough calories to produce milk. I had a girlfriend that was working out and “dieting” so much that she couldn’t provide adequate supply for the baby(an it took her longer to lose the weight). And she had a really hard time breast feeding – why would baby want to nurse if she wasn’t getting enough and could get more from the bottle. (my girlfriend had to supplement). On the other hand, I breast fed my twins and ate like.CRAZY! I lost 70 lbs (baby wt. + 10lbs) in 3 months. Making milk takes a LOT of calories…Just make sure you’re getting enough and the weight will drop off.
I really enjoy your blog(s), and wish you all the best in your pregnancy and healthy lifestyle goals. God Bless.

Great post – i am a runner and can’t wait to start running again – i haven’t run in almost 4 months and i can feel it in my legs – i feel like i have restless leg syndrome i really can’t sit still so i go for a walk do squats etc. it help my legs feel better. I haven’t done the pre-natal yoga yet but i do walk a lot with the dog, swim and do strength training with a trainer still. It keeps me sane but as soon as i feel i have the energy those jogging shoes and that jogging stroller will be used – can’t wait.

When I look at the things you really want to focus on, I would recommend Exhale Core Fusion dvds. They are intense, low impact & a combo of yoga, pilates & Lotte Burke (sp?). I have 6 dvds & I’m doing an all core fusion December. I’m amazed at how much stronger I’m getting from a more unconventional workout!